Enamelist and designer Buddug Wyn Humphreys celebrates the Welsh language in her art
ENAMELIST AND DESIGNER BUDDUG WYN HUMPHREYS
There can be no doubt where Buddug Wyn Humphreys’ creative influences stem from. She was brought up in Snowdonia in North Wales, and both her rural childhood and her first language, Welsh, have been strong influences throughout her life. Today, after a stint in London, she lives on the outskirts of Cardiff and has a shop and studio opposite the castle, but you’ll often find her out and about along the Penarth coastline and in the surrounding countryside, sketchbook in hand, drawing the landscape and wildlife.
It was when Buddug went to study jewellery and silversmithing at London Metropolitan University in 2002 that she became interested in enamelling – a technique of melting glass onto copper, silver or steel. Her trademark is to incorporate images and words inspired by the Welsh landscape, literature and culture into her work, drawing them into the enamel layers between firings.
When she left university, she knew she wanted to work for herself rather than as a jeweller for hire, but couldn’t afford to take any financial risks so early in her career. She joined forces with a like-minded college friend, embroiderer and designer Jessie Chorley, to find a way to make their businesses pay for themselves from the start.
‘We both started out on a small scale from a humble tabletop in London’s Broadway Market. I was selling pieces of enamel jewellery,’ she says. Trade picked up and in 2011 they went on to find a small premises on Columbia Road, which they named J and B. The area was lively with the bustling flower market over the weekends. As the shop was only open from Thursday to Sunday, the pair had the rest of the week free to produce and promote their work, and head out of London to set up exhibitions or private workshops.
‘By this point I had a studio in Hackney and a large enough kiln to work on more ambitious pieces, so I started making plates, too,’ says Buddug. It’s these larger pieces that are now some of her most popular designs.
Buddug worked hard on engaging with customers online, at the shop and out of London. ‘We embraced social media and found it crucial in spreading the word about our work alongside the shop, workshops and exhibitions,’ she says. ‘It was this combination >